Automated lead distribution can quickly solve many problems before they even arise. When a lead comes in, several questions need to be addressed quickly before converting it can begin.
First, the lead should be scored based on how likely the prospect is to become a customer.
Then, you need to figure out which sales rep (or location) in your company is best suited to converting that lead.
Finally, keeping track of that lead throughout the customer journey is critical to keeping your employees accountable and optimizing your sales funnel.
Let’s walk through the concept of lead distribution and scoring and how you can use automation to improve lead conversions.
Key Takeaways:
- You’ll want some lead distribution program to maximize your sales efficiency, even if you choose not to use automation.
- Businesses with multiple locations have unique challenges when it comes to distribution that they can easily solve through automation.
- Automated lead routing can save you time and resources and improve your sales funnel’s efficiency.
What Is Lead Distribution?
Lead distribution is the process of assigning leads to your sales reps. It can be done manually, using automation, or with some mixture of the two. Lead distribution occurs in tandem with a lead scoring system that ranks your leads’ quality.
Source: Close
What Is Lead Scoring?
Lead scoring, or lead routing, is the step where you rank leads based on any metric you decide is important. You can score leads based on factors like how likely they are to convert, expected lifetime value, how well your product matches their niche or any other factor you choose.
For more on how to develop a lead-scoring program, check out this video:
Why Lead Distribution Is Important
The goal of a lead distribution program is to maximize the efficiency of your lead routing, keep accurate track of data, and ensure your efforts at lead generation always pay off.
Lead distribution allows you to match each of your leads with the best sales rep for the job. If a high-quality lead that could lead to a huge revenue boost comes in, you want to ensure your best rep is on top. Automation will save time and improve your odds of converting.
Specific Challenges for Multi-Location Businesses
It can be more difficult for a business with multiple locations to distribute leads.
Additional factors like geography might make a certain lead better for one location over another. Some locations may be converting more leads, so they need preference when it comes to distribution.
Keeping track of data is simultaneously more difficult and important because you have more moving parts to keep track of.
Though you can certainly try and manage your lead distribution manually, automation is the way to go if you’re ready to scale up your sales operations and take your business to the next level.
The Benefits of Automated Lead Distribution
Automating your lead distribution will come with several benefits.
- Efficiency. Each location and sales rep deserves the best opportunity with the right number of leads: not too many and not too few. Striking a balance is something automation can help with.
- Speed. You can’t afford to take your time. Responding within five minutes of receiving a new lead will increase the odds of conversion by up to 78%.
- Simplicity. A good, automated lead distribution platform helps all stakeholders stay on top of lead distribution and tracking.
- Accuracy. Automated lead routing means more data and better attribution.
Three Steps to Save Time and Improve Lead Conversions through Automation
Here are three steps to using automation to improve your sales funnel.
1. Rank Your Representatives
Whether or not you choose to inform the reps of this ranking, it’s important that you know who is performing best for the business by establishing a ranking of your sales reps. Here’s an example:
Source: xlsxtemplates
We recommend automating this step by establishing a few simple metrics that are most important to you in advance. Stay flexible here: you may not have chosen the right metrics or given them the appropriate weight right from the beginning, so being open to change is important.
2. Choose a Distribution System
Since every business has unique criteria for scoring and distributing leads, you’ll need to determine which strategy is best for you.
Here are a few examples of lead distribution strategies that work best with automation:
- Performance-Based Routing: Keep track of how well each rep performs based on any metric you choose, then give the highest-scoring leads to your highest-performing reps.
- Experience-Based Routing: Though you may sacrifice some efficiency by preferring experience over performance, this method may be the best to keep all your reps happy and motivated.
- Round-Robin: Assign leads in a certain order every time. This method benefits from simplicity but may not always achieve the highest efficiency. Sales reps may feel they’re playing the lottery.
3. Track Your Data and Optimize
You’ll want to know everything you can about how a prospect turned into a customer through your sales efforts. Tracking response time, the number of contacts and the length of your sales cycle will help you understand where you should concentrate on your sales efforts in the future.
Keeping track of which reps are closing leads at which rates and improving your ability to attribute sales to your marketing efforts is perhaps the biggest benefit of automated lead routing.
MXTR Is Ready to Work with You to Automate Your Lead Distribution
Our marketing automation tool was designed to optimize lead routing and help your business scale through efficiency. Regardless of industry or niche, our platform is flexible enough to help you manage your lead routing while keeping track of huge amounts of data.
MXTR specializes in helping businesses with multiple locations streamline their sales funnel and maximize their marketing efforts. We know the power of automation, and we’re excited to help design an automation package that is right for your business.
Ready to scale your business? Click here to schedule a demo of MXTR’s marketing automation tool today.
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